The Prophecy Returns
by Kazzabelle
Summary: CHAPTER 8 IS HERE! What happens when choices are made...what happens when the matrix dies and peace is born...and what happens when Neo and Trinity live, only to find that the journey isn't over yet? Please review.
1. Life and Death

CHAPTER ONE  
  
Pain ebbed through Neo's body as he made his way toward The Source. Sentinels swarmed like dragonflies around him; he could not tell whether the roaring in his ears was as a result of the machinery surrounding him, or the anguish shrieking inside his mind.  
  
Nothing seemed of any worth, now that Trinity was gone. He felt numb, a terrible, all-consuming ache, but little emotion, as though it had been wiped away by anaesthesia. All he knew was that he wanted to die. There was nothing to live for. Saving Zion was one thing, but how could he rejoice in it, now that there was no Trinity? It was easy to surmise. He couldn't. There was no way he could go on. Still, a flame of determination and courage continued to flicker in the innermost corner of his soul. The flame that told him to fulfil his duty as saviour to Zion and to end the terrible war that had conflicted humanity for so long.  
  
Flash. Now he was standing before Agent Smith, rain coursing down his face, dripping from his nose, soaking his suit. He didn't care. There was pure malevolence in Smith's eyes. He wanted nothing but the ultimate revenge for losing Trinity to such evil. He knew that any fight that erupted would be for Trinity, not anything or anybody else. Trinity. Her name flashed painfully in his mind, as his stomach throbbed and tears stung his eyes. I hate you, Smith. I will kill you.  
  
Flash. Neo was lying in a rivulet of muddy water, the rain still tumbling down. Agent Smith towered above him, leering, taunting, threatening. Neo's energy levels were depleting rapidly, trickling away like the rain that trickled down his face. Mustering up as much energy as possible, he pulled himself from the ground. Suddenly, he found himself lying, half-dead, on the rocks on the opposite side of the enclosure, oddly unsure of how he had gotten there. He'd felt pain in his abdomen, felt the sharpness of the rocks as they punctured his back, but did not know why. He had to assume that Smith had sent him flying; but he was ill-aware of anything around him.   
  
Flash. A strange, all-numbing sensation crawled all over his body, and he was vaguely aware that it was the same feeling he'd felt, back when he first fought Agent Smith and his clones…the feeling that he was dying. This time, however, he had no strength nor motivation to stop it happening. When the sensation had stopped, he felt a corner of his mind leer at him, telling him that he was now Agent Smith. But something was happening. He felt burning, fire, wind and rain, all thrown together in a rushing gale. It tore through him, in splitting agony, and he felt himself jerk and kick, back at the source, where he was plugged in…now he was divided between the matrix and the source…and Trinity…he knew, this time, that he was dying…he knew that it was all over…  
  
Flash. He was standing in a white station, not dissimilar to the station where he'd first encountered the Trainman and the Indian family. Gazing around, he could see nobody. Nobody at all. He looked down at his body. He was wearing his standard torn jumper, bare feet, and ripped pants. Oddly, he felt no pain. He was hazily aware that something big had happened to him…something great…something important…and then the images flooded back, coursing painfully through his mind…duelling with Bane, scorching his eyes…blinking, he felt the full thrill of being able to move his eyelids up and down without pain…seeing Trinity on the floor of the Logos, as she died…kissing her one last time…meeting the Source…battling with Agent Smith…and that strange sensation of dying and rebirth, all combined…  
  
Wind roared past at that moment, shattering his reverie. Tears stung his eyes; a saviour should never cry, he thought, but discarded the thought; he had lost the one person who had meant everything to him, all in an instant. He should never have let her go with him to the Source…never should have allowed it…but his impulsive desire to have her by his side had cost him the woman he loved…and he would never forgive himself.  
  
A train pulled up at that moment…whistling along the tracks, it stopped with a hiss in front of Neo. Lowering his head, Neo allowed the tears to flow freely. If only he could see Trinity one last time…if only he could hold her in his arms, like before…if only…  
  
And then he saw her. Saw her emotionless gaze, staring out of the window. Her hair was still loose, just as it had been when she died…she was wearing the same gull-grey jumper, torn and shredded. She wore no expression; he wondered if she'd seen him; he was standing, motionless, transfixed and hardly daring to breathe, let alone believe what he saw in front of him. Perhaps it was just an illusion; perhaps the Matrix had conquered, and was trying to trick him; perhaps it was the Frenchman, perhaps it was Agent Smith, somehow resurrected, trying to trap him. But he didn't care. Nothing could be lost. If it was not her, he could die and not care. If it was, then so much better for everything.  
  
The doors slid open – hoardes of people rushed out, many of whom Neo recognised…Cass, Dozer…Morpheus…the Oracle…the Indian man…it seemed like everybody in the world except the one he wanted so much to see had alighted. And then, suddenly, Trinity appeared. She stepped off, and saw Neo. They stared, eyes connecting, hearts connecting, souls connecting. And then Neo stepped towards her, slowly, savouring the moment, all the while holding their intent gaze. Once he'd reached her, he held out one hand and, wordlessly, stroked her cheek. She tipped her head slightly and allowed her cheek to be cupped in his hand, her eyes closed. His eyes watered. A tear trickled down her cheek. There was no need for words; only actions.  
  
He pulled her to him with sudden ferocity. She grasped him around the shoulders tightly, gripping him, holding him close, clawing at his jumper, tears streaming down her face, mixing with his own…and then he kissed her, kissed her with yearning, with passion, with inhuman strength.  
  
'I missed you,' Neo said, his lips resting against her cheek, his breath making her shiver despite its warmth.  
  
'I can tell,' she responded, and hugged him again. 


	2. The Break of Dawn

CHAPTER TWOp  
  
Neo sat beside the old woman and, after a few minutes' silence, asked, 'Why?'p  
  
'It was our choices, Neo. Your choice was to be with Trinity forever, at least in your mind.'p  
  
'I didn't know it would happen.' Neo pulled on his sunglasses.p  
  
'You didn't have to.' The Oracle inhaled her cigarette, gazing out at the cityscape around her, and the miasma of colours washed in the sky. 'Everything that has a beginning has an end, of course, but our choices allow us to decide when that end will be.'p  
  
Neo considered this. 'How did I get to the station?'p  
  
The Oracle took another drag on her cigarette, and spent a few moments considering her answer before replying. 'That station is the separator of life and death.'p  
  
'But it's the same as the station I was in when I met the Indian family.'p  
  
'You're right,' the Oracle answered, 'but you're wrong. It was the separator of the Matrix and the human world. But after you conquered the matrix, it reverted to its old purpose.' She stubbed her cigarette. 'Neo, you are blessed to be still in this world. Before you ended the reign of the Matrix, nobody had a chance to live or die. If you died, you were dead; it was as simple as that.p  
  
'But without the matrix, everybody has a chance to live or die. You were chosen to live. So were all those people you saw at the Station…Morpheus, Dozer, Trinity…me. We chose to live, when we were alive.'p  
  
'But…'p  
  
'I've always told you, Neo, that it is our choices that bring about a conclusion. Your choices, my choice, throughout our lifetimes, determined that one final decision.'p  
  
Neo stared out at the sky. 'So everybody else…did die?'p  
  
'You know the answer, Neo.'p  
  
'They're gone? Everything's normal?'p  
  
The Oracle shrugged. 'Sort of. Of course, the matrix doesn't exist. Yet. You see, one day, I'm sure, humankind will begin the cycle again. The matrix will return; we haven't seen the end of it. But at least we can feel safe in the knowledge that those who formed the evil are paying the price for it now.'p  
  
'But they'll come back?'p  
  
'When the matrix returns, then yes. Evil only spawns evil. But until then, our world should be as happy as we can make it.'p  
  
Neo bent over and kissed the old woman on the cheek. 'Now you're not a machine; I'm glad.'p  
  
'Damn right, boy!' The Oracle looked horrified. 'I ain't no machine no more.'p  
  
Neo pulled an envelope from his pocket. 'I want you to have this,' he said.p  
  
The Oracle eyed him wearily. 'Of course I'm coming, you silly boy. Don't go wasting paper.'p  
  
Neo smiled. 'I'll tell Trinity. She'll be happy.'p  
  
The two sat; one, the saviour; one the prophet, enjoying the intoxicating sensation of peace, and the sweet contemplation of the future.p 


	3. Mixed Blessings

CHAPTER THREE  
  
Trinity and Neo's wedding day was everything it was expected to be and more. The Oracle did come, as she had promised, and a small gathering of close friends turned up; Dozer, Cass, Niobe, Morpheus and the Indian family were among the few. It was a small private affair; in their eyes, their romance was sacred, and so ought to be their wedding.  
  
Trinity wore a simple pearl silk gown, with straps and v-neck...she was barefoot, and had her hair pulled back loosely in a pearl-covered clasp. She wore no veil. Imprisonment within the matrix had gone on too long for her to feel constricted yet again. Neo wore a cream suit; no black, he said, for it represented darkness...and all he had known in the matrix was darkness.  
  
The waves crashed in joyous melody on the shore as they shared their vows. After they had exchanged rings and shared their kiss, the small group clapped. Neo and Trinity held each other for a long time after that and, at their reception, they did not let each other out of their sight.  
  
The Oracle was rather quiet that evening; she sat wordlessly on the steps outside the building, inhaling her cigarette and exhaling the bluish smoke through her nostrils. Neo slipped outside, with Trinity close behind, and sat down beside her.  
  
'What's the matter?' he asked, as Trinity knelt behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He clasped his hand in hers.  
  
'Neo, times will be difficult ahead.'  
  
'What?' A sensation of dread crept into his stomach. He was having such a wonderful day, marrying the woman he loved. He could not handle more bad news. He was thankful that the matrix had brought him to Trinity...but it was still traumatic for him to remember those violent times.  
  
'The uprising will begin again...not in your lifetime...but for the generation ahead.'  
  
Both relief and panic flooded Neo's and Trinity's senses as they sat silently, trying to comprehend what the Oracle was saying.  
  
'Protect your child, when it is born...it will need all the love and care it can get.'  
  
Startled, Trinity and Neo shared a glance. Child? It was absurd. They hadn't even begun discussing the possibility of having children. Their road to emotional recovery had only begun with this small step: marriage. It was intended to seal their love, which was fine - but children? They had not thought of that.  
  
And, at that moment, Trinity grew pale and felt a pain issue from deep in her abdomen. She looked at the Oracle. The Oracle smiled slightly, and nodded. Startled and bemused, Trinity looked at Neo. Neo looked at Trinity. A smile spread across both their faces; and it was then that they realised that their happiness was complete.  
  
'You will need to work with humankind and make sure that they do not enslave the machines yet again....for if they do, the cycle will begin again and lead to more destruction and despair. I know you can do it. Your work and your duty is not over yet, Trinity and Neo. It has only just begun.'  
  
-- More? What do you think? 


	4. Surprising News

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
It did not take long for the Oracle's prophecy to begin to unfold. Seven months and three days later, Neo received word that a group of scientists in Scandinavia had begun developing machines running on Artificial Intelligence.  
  
He heard the news on a rather hot, sticky day; it was Sunday, and Trinity was sleeping, after a fitful sequence of nightsweats, nausea and fatigue. He'd woken early, pulled on his running shorts, and circled the block several times before collapsing, panting, on a park bench. He was exhausted, and he was dismayed to suspect that his powers were slowly dwindling away. He sighed, massaging his aching neck and wriggling his feet, constricted by his running shoes. He'd been up all night, comforting, caring for and worrying about Trinity. He was physically and emotionally drained.  
  
'Hello, Neo,' a voice appeared, as if from nowhere; startled, Neo whirled around and relaxed when he saw the Oracle approach. She slowly, deliberately, settled herself on the bench beside him. She did not speak for a few moments; rather, she pulled a cigarette from her pocket, delicately lit it, and inhaled.   
  
'Where did you appear from?'  
  
'It doesn't matter, Neo.' She paused, and blew a smoke ring through the air. Her entire manner was artless, well-practiced. Such an action would ordinarily have been considered vulgar by any normal standards, yet with the Oracle, it was almost beautiful; so delicate. 'Nothing does. I have news for you. And you may not like it.'  
  
Dread and panic clutched at Neo's nerves. Trinity! The baby! What could possibly be wrong? 'Is it Trinity?' he asked, panicked and, chuckling slightly, the Oracle responded, 'No. It is something else.'  
  
'What, then?' A wave of relief broke over him. He exhaled.  
  
'Artificial Intelligence has begun again, Neo. Scientists in Scandinavia are developing machines to do a whole lot of unnecessary bidding. They haven't finished yet; oh no, they have a few years longer before they are to perfect their creations. But what I can see as happening once this occurs is not good news. I see a continuation of the matrix. But I also see what you and Trinity - and your baby - can do.'  
  
'My baby can help?' Neo asked, stunned. It was not what he had expected.  
  
'You are the One, Neo - you always will be. But your child will have something special, I can see...as does Trinity, of course. As a trio, you will be able to do great things.' The Oracle flicked away her cigarette, eyes settling on a far-off point. 'But I warn you, that the road won't be easy. You'll see things you ain't gonna want to see. But I believe in you.'  
  
Neo shifted his feet. 'Will our other children do the same?'  
  
'I can't answer that, Neo.'  
  
'But do you know?'  
  
'I will not say. There are some things you need to know, and others you don't. For now, this is all you need to know.'  
  
'How can I help?'  
  
'Keep watching the papers. Make sure you are keeping up to date. In May next year, there will be a forum held in Stockholm about these machines. You must go. It is imperative. Take your child, and Trinity. You will be safe.'  
  
'All of us?'  
  
'Yes, all of you.' The Oracle stood, closed the clasp of her handbag and smiled slightly. 'And, by the way, Neo...I wouldn't worry about your powers if I were you. Incompetence is merely a state of mind. If you believe you cannot do it, if you believe you are defeated, then you sure as hell can't.'  
  
'But I run out of energy.'  
  
'Again, a state of mind. You were born the One; nothing will ever change it.' She smiled again. 'Goodbye, Neo. I daresay I will see you soon. And buy new shoes. You might roll your ankle with those.'  
  
Neo looked down at his tattered running shoes, worn from days and days of endless running and muddy storms. When he looked up, though, the Oracle was gone. 


	5. The Newspaper

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
It was the middle of May the following year. Neo was seated at the kitchen table, eating an apple and reading the daily newspaper, scanning for information about the rugby match held the night before. He'd missed out, Pia having had her first birthday party. Trinity had prepared a huge dinner with Pia's friends from playgroup, and they'd all had fun squishing the rich chocolate mud cake between their hands and smearing it all over their faces.  
  
Neo took a moment to reflect on his life so far as he watched his daughter giggle and laugh with her friends. They all sat in a circle, with Trinity only feet away, watching them with a glowing pride only surpassed by the brightness of the sun that afternoon.  
  
Pia had been born prematurely, having been due in early March and instead having arrived on the 17th February. Trinity had been out walking their dog, Aron, when she'd felt rippling sensations issuing from her abdomen. Alarmed, she raced back to the house, where Neo was sleeping in front of the television.  
  
'Neo, wake up!' Trinity had said, shaking him gently on the shoulder.  
  
'W-What?' Neo said, the meaning of his statement hindered by his yawn.  
  
'I think,' Trinity said, 'that the baby's coming.'  
  
Neo suddenly jerked awake. He had not expected this. The doctors had made it clear that they oughtn't expect the baby for a little less than a month, having visited the obstetrician only days earlier. 'You're joking,' he said.  
  
'I'm not,' she said adamantly, placing a hand on her stomach. 'I'm feeling contractions, or at least what feel like contractions. And,' she said, 'my water broke on my way back.'  
  
'Shit,' Neo said, springing up from the chair and grabbing Trinity by the shoulders and guided her out of the room. 'I'll drive you to the hospital.'  
  
'Neo, I can walk myself....'  
  
'No, you can't. It's okay. I'll help,' he said. She was about to object, but realised there was no point.  
  
He bundled her into the car, and threw himself in the front seat.  
  
'It's okay, baby,' he said, 'just breathe.'  
  
'Neo,' she said. 'I do not need to breathe. I'm fine.'  
  
'No, you're not,' he said. 'You're in labour. You need to breathe.'  
  
'Neo, I don't need this theatrical shit. Just get me to the damn hospital.'  
  
The hospital was bright and startlingly white, and Neo noted that it reminded him too much of the train station for his liking. He sat in a chair outside Trinity's room for several hours. Occasionally he would hear a shriek issue from inside; and then there would be silence.  
  
'Mr Anderson?' a nurse suddenly said, breaking his reverie. 'We're taking her to the delivery room. We'll be back soon.' Seconds later, a stricken Trinity was wheeled out of the room, pale and insignificant against an ocean of stark white blankets and pillows.  
  
'Trin,' he said, a lump forming in his throat, 'love you.' He clasped her hand briefly as she was wheeled past. She flashed him a weak smile back.  
  
Forty three minutes later, Neo first heard the cry of the baby that he would later discover was his daughter. When the nurses emerged, cradling the tiny newborn in their arms, Neo's eyes filled with tears against all his efforts to defy sentimentality, and couldn't help thinking how beautiful his life was, now that he had his wife and a new baby daughter in the world.  
  
The newspaper was scant of information about the rugby match that morning, an infuriated Neo noted, but a subheading caught his eye as he flicked backwards through the paper. 'STOCKHOLM FORUM TO BE HELD IN MAY'. Suddenly, Neo remembered the Oracle's words, and almost choked on the piece of apple he was chewing.  
  
'Trin!' he called out, and she came running from the living room, holding a screaming Pia in her arms. 'What is it?' she said crossly.  
  
'The information about the forum, it's in the paper,' he said, jabbing at the newspaper before him. 'We've got to go, Trin. We've got to.'  
  
'Well, ring up the Stockholm Institute and book tickets,' she said. 'I'll call the travel agents. When is it?'  
  
'May 4th until the 7th.'  
  
'We can go in late April and have a holiday first,' she said. 'I'll ring now.'  
  
'Can we afford it?'  
  
'Yes.'  
  
Days later, they received both their plane tickets and their forum passes in the mail.  
  
Pia was too little to understand fully, but she sensed an air of excitement in the house. Her parents often said to her, 'Guess what, Pia-baby? We're going to Denmark. We're all going on a holiday.' And Pia would giggle and laugh, as though she knew exactly what was going to happen. 


	6. Not A Fairytale

CHAPTER SIX  
  
'The agents organised a stopover in Copenhagen the week before the forum,' Trinity said to Neo one afternoon. 'We'll be able to visit Denmark for a little while before we go over to Sweden. I've always wanted to go to Denmark. My grandmother was Danish.' She stood and adjusted Pia's playpen. Now thirteen months old, their little girl was so inquisitive. 'And the forum tickets have to be renewed the day before,' she said, 'or else we won't be admitted to the Institute -'  
  
Neo came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, and lightly kissed her exposed neck. 'Trin,' he murmured, 'don't get yourself so worked up over this forum. The Oracle says it will be okay. Let's just relax, okay? Enjoy it while we can. I don't know what will happen after this.'  
  
Trinity freed herself from his grasp. 'But we have to plan,' she said. 'We can't just hope that we can wander in and they'll accommodate us.' She busied herself with wiping Pia's face with a wet facecloth.  
  
Neo sighed. He'd noticed, especially over the past six or seven months, that Trinity had become - well, so un-Trin-like. She was so uptight and serious these days. She'd always been serious, of course. She'd never been somebody who laughed or joked or even smiled a lot. But these days, she fussed and clucked over Pia almost obsessively, and had a set agenda for everything. She was no longer the buffed, matrix arse-kicking queen he once knew. She was rather housewifely now, and quite soft. And she'd been showing him less and less affection lately. It worried him. He still loved her more than anything in the world, and even more so than the day they first kissed, more than the day they'd married, more than yesterday even. But she'd gone rather cold and distant. He wondered if something had happened to her he did not know about. He knew women were complicated creatures; but this had been going on for a long time now.  
  
'Trin,' he said, 'you've changed.'  
  
Immediately after saying it, he wished he hadn't. It was a verbal extension of his thoughts, and he hadn't intentionally set out to say these words aloud. He knew that, if anything, it could make her worse. She stiffened and bent over the edge of the playpen, lowering Pia into it. His daughter giggled as she crawled about, clutching her rattle gleefully and flahsing a rather adorable smile at her parents.  
  
'People do that, Neo.'  
  
'I know,' he said, 'but...well...you're different. You hardly touch me anymore. Pia gets more attention than I do. And,' he added, 'you're so secretive and so distant. I feel like I hardly know you.'  
  
Trinity stood, and considered her response well before she spoke it. 'Listen, I'm a mother now. I have other things to think about. I'm trying to forget about the matrix, okay? I don't want to be constantly reminded of it. I want to look at my daughter and imagine a better future.'  
  
'What about your husband? Doesn't he count?'  
  
'Of course he does.' But she didn't sound convinced.  
  
'Your husband wants to forget the matrix, and imagine a better future too. But he hardly gets a chance with his daughter, let alone his wife, because they're always together.'  
  
Trinity maintained a levelled gaze. 'I don't know,' she said. 'I just don't know if I feel the same way I once did, Neo. Things are changing. I feel different. I have my emotions too.'  
  
'Damnit, Trinity,' he said. 'I love you. I can't stand not being with you, or having you acting so cold toward me. Please. Tell me that you love me.' He swallowed, trying to choke back tears. 'Because you haven't for so long.'  
  
Trinity's expression was still stony. 'Neo, I need time to think. I'm going to go and stay with Niobe and Morpheus for awhile. I'm sorry, but I have to. I need to get my thoughts together. Things are so complicated. And,' she added, 'I'm going to take Pia.'  
  
Tears swam in Neo's eyes and clouded his vision. 'Trin, please,' he said. 'Can't we just talk and work it out? I don't know what's gone wrong, but whatever it is, I'll do anything in my power to fix it.'  
  
'I'll see you in a couple of weeks,' she said, ignoring his comment. She moved toward him. 'I'm going to pack now.' She planted a cold kiss on his cheek before climbing the stairs.  
  
Neo crumpled in a chair beside his playpen, tears streaming down his face, and the ache clutching his entire body excruciating in its intensity. He felt as though his heart were breaking. Without Pia...without Trinity...he was nothing. Nothing. How could he bear the weight of knowing that he and Trin would be apart for a time; might be apart forever; that Trinity might not love him anymore?  
  
---------------------------  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Things will be revealed in due course. I ask you to keep an open mind. It was hard for me to write it, let alone re-read it. But the story would be incomplete without it.  
  
Updates will occur every couple of days.  
  
--------------------------- 


	7. Stubble and Surrealism

CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
The shock Neo felt for the following week was completely numbing – or at least it numbed it mind. He tried not to think about it too much. But he felt the ache. Oh, he definitely felt the ache. It consumed his stomach, and his chest – somewhere in the region of his heart. He now realised the true meaning of the throw-away phrase, 'I could live without you.' He knew that every word of that phrase was true for him. He could not go on without Pia. Without Trinity.  
  
What had gone wrong? Things had been so idyllic the first ten months or so. Before Pia was born. Not that he was blaming Pia. He adored her like no other, doted on her. After all, not only was she this wonderful little human being whom he could proudly call his daughter, she was a product of his and Trinity's love. But then something had changed. Something he could not placed. Trinity didn't even seem to know, either. All those times they had professed their undying love for one another. All those times they had cried for and with each other. All those moments they had spent, wrapped in each other's arms, neither wanting to let go. All those times they knew that they could not live a day without each other. Where had all that gone? Where?  
  
Neo cried aloud as he shifted in his bed. He had not left it for days. Well, he'd gotten up occasionally to go to the toilet, and to grab a doughnut from the fridge. Other than this, he'd remained there, day and night, not doing anything except vacantly staring into space, occasionally flicking the remote control to see if there were any interesting shows on. Jerry Springer, Young and the Restless, blah blah blah, he thought, hurling the remote control angrily at the opposite wall. They think they have it hard, he thought, almost in tears.  
  
He'd let himself go. He was now developing a rather coarse, unflattering beard as a result of days of stubble and lack of shaving. He didn't care, though. He had not heard from his wife in almost nine days. Not even Niobe or Morpheus had contacted him to allay his fears that something might have happened to them. He cried out, yet again. He tended to do that often, now. Cry out piteously and then burst into a hopeless wave of tears. Trin, come back…he begged, shouted, screamed inside his mind, hoping she would hear him. Please. I love you. I can't go on without you.  
  
On the sixteenth day, Neo finally pulled himself out of bed, and into the bathroom to have a shower. He hadn't had one since she'd left. He didn't even want to think about how smelly and dirty he was, after nights and nights of nightsweats. He opened the door, pulled himself inside, and let the hot water gush over his body, tingle on his skin…he spent almost half an hour in there, washing and thinking and soaping and crying.   
  
Stepping out, he dried himself, and then set about to shave. He nicked himself several times with the razor, and yelped as he held a wet tissue to the cuts. He put on some deodorant and aftershave, changed into new clothes, and stumbled downstairs to cook a decent breakfast. Despite his unhealthy diet of donuts, he'd lost a lot of weight. His face felt and looked thinner, and he realised he needed a belt to hold up his trousers.  
  
While in the kitchen, savouring the delicious scent of bacon and eggs sizzling in the frypan (he'd had a two-o'clock-am craving for these), the phone rang. It made him jump. Nobody had rung him since Trinity left, or if they had, he'd slept through it. He wiped his hands on a tea towel to eliminate the grease, and yanked the receiver from its base on the wall.  
  
'Hello?' he said, hurriedly, expecting it to be Trinity. It had to be Trinity. It just had to.  
  
'Hello, is Thomas Anderson there, please?'  
  
Sighing with disappointment, he nodded. 'Yes, that's me.'  
  
'I'd just like to inform you that your Stockholm Institute forum passes have been cancelled.'  
  
'Why?' In all honesty, he'd forgotten about it, though now that he thought of it, they had another month or so to go before they needed to depart for their stopover in Denmark. Assuming they actually went together, he added, as an afterthought.  
  
'There's been a bomb threat, and we're declining all American passes to eliminate the dangers involved. Now only scientists and their immediate families are being permitted to come along.'  
  
'But I paid for those tickets,' Neo said angrily, 'and you do not understand how important it is for me to go.'  
  
'Well, I'm sorry, sir,' she said, 'but you can't go. It's as simple as that. We're not permitting any foreigners other than those directly associated with the project to go.'  
  
'Well, that's just fantastic,' he yelled aloud, not meaning to be so aggressive, but angry anyway. 'I paid good money for those tickets. I paid good money for my family to travel to Copenhagen and then to Stockholm. And now you're telling me that thousands of my hard-earned dollars are just going to be wasted?'  
  
'Yes, I'm afraid that's the case, sir,' she said. 'We had no way of knowing the outcome of all this, but I would like to extend our deepest –'  
  
'Apologies can only do so much. How do you intend to fix this?' He seemed to be taking all his pent-up anger and hurt about Trinity out on this woman, and he felt he could not do a thing to stop it. 'Can I have a refund?'  
  
'Reimbursement is not an option, I'm afraid,' she said. 'We would lose thousands and thousands of dollars if we were to reimburse each family -'  
  
'So the families just lose the money instead, do they?'  
  
'I'm sorry, sir, but…'  
  
'I don't have time for this shit. Goodbye,' he said, and slammed the phone against its base on the wall. He stood there, hands leaning on the counter, breathing heavily for a few moments. What was happening? Why was his life suddenly beginning to fall spectacularly apart? 


	8. Things Go Bump In The Night

CHAPTER EIGHT  
  
Neo was sleeping, soundly, for the first time during the period of her absence. He'd fallen asleep (in his pyjamas, this time) watching a late night sports channel on television, with empty McDonald's wrappings on the floor beside his bed. Now that he'd started showering and actually eating full meals, he felt a little more equipped to deal with the emotional aspects of Trinity's absence.  
  
He was so deeply asleep, in fact, that he did not hear the front door downstairs click open. Nor did he hear footsteps padding across the carpet, the door to a bedroom creak open and, after a few minutes, closed again. He didn't hear footsteps continue up the carpeted stairs, or a figure slide silently through the open bedroom door. He didn't hear or see the figure drop bags and two large suitcases beside the wardrobe, before pulling on a nightdress. He did not hear Trinity seat herself on the edge of the bed beside him.  
  
But he did feel the mattress sag as she sat, and startled, he awoke, eyes bleary and tired. He propped himself up on his hands, and twisted his body around, confused and slightly disoriented.  
  
'Trin!' he cried, when he saw her.  
  
'Ssh,' she said. 'Pia's asleep.'  
  
He sat bolt upright. 'When did you get back?  
  
'About five minutes ago.'  
  
'Oh.' He sank back against the mattress, instinctively pulling the quilt up to cover certain manly parts. It was his wife, after all, and so theoretically he didn't need to do that. But he felt embarrassed, and estranged, and completely detached from her.  
  
'Listen,' she said, laying down beside him, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. 'I'm sorry, Neo.'  
  
He buried his face in the pillow, and said, muffled, 'Am I supposed to tell you that it's okay?'  
  
'No, I don't expect that.'  
  
Now that she was back, he found it difficult to pinpoint his emotions. It was the culmination of three weeks of hoping and praying that she had actually returned. He was ecstatic. But at the same time he was furious, and hurt. And he felt used. That he was convenient. That when she decided she wanted him, she would. That it was all on her terms. He felt bitter, and hurt, and confused. He wanted to hug her, and hit her at the same time.  
  
It was truly a cocktail of emotions.  
  
She turned to face him in the dark, and he turned to face her as well. Hurt and pain was etched upon his face. 'Neo, I'm sorry,' she repeated. 'I didn't understand my feelings. But please understand that I didn't mean to hurt you.' She reached out and cupped her hand on his cheek. She leaned in and gently kissed his nose.  
  
'Disappearing for three weeks without a word, without a phone call? And with my daughter?'  
  
'She missed you, Neo. She kept asking for Daddy.'  
  
'Well, too bad Daddy wasn't there to comfort her.'  
  
'Neo, please! You're not making this any easier for me.'  
  
'What, easier than it was for me these past three weeks? Hoping my wife would actually come back? Hoping that I'd ever see her again? Surely this could be easier than that.'  
  
'Neo, please!' She burst into tears. 'I love you. I always have.' She paused. 'And I always will.'  
  
'You had a nice way of showing it.' He knew he was being nasty, but he couldn't stop.  
  
Trinity clasped his hand in hers. 'I spoke to Niobe and Morpheus,' she said. 'A lot. They tried to help me. Eventually they got me to go see a doctor. And a counsellor.'  
  
'Oh? And what did they say? That your husband needs to be locked up in a psychiatric ward?' His fury was escalating by the minute. He was sorry to be doing it, but a part of him kept it going.  
  
'Neo, goddamnit, do you want to hear this or not?'  
  
'Yes,' he said, 'all right.' He squeezed her hand reassuringly. 'I'm sorry. I'm just hurt.'  
  
'I went to the doctor's, and to see a counsellor,' she said. 'Niobe took me there and we had some lengthy discussions afterwards. Neo,' she said, 'for the past year or so, I've been suffering from post-natal depression.'  
  
Neo's jaw dropped. At that moment, he realised how much he had neglected her feelings. He'd been too wrapped up in romantic dreams. Imagining the perfection the end of the matrix supposedly brought. Too wrapped up in a daze of believing everything would now be wonderful. He hadn't noticed her quietly slip out from everyday behaviour to an unrecognisable, withdrawn Trinity.  
  
And something as simple as post-natal depression? God, if only he'd thought about it more, he could have helped her. He knew all about post-natal depression. He'd seen many women suffer from it. He had just suffered from the misapprehension that Trinity, strong, brave, beautiful Trinity, would never endure it too.  
  
'Oh, God, Trin,' he cried, wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him. 'I love you so much. I can't believe I didn't try and understand it better.'  
  
She began to cry. 'I couldn't understand why I felt the way I did…least of all towards you…I couldn't believe how I couldn't bring myself to touch you, or bring myself to admit that I loved you…' Her tears soaked his bare skin. 'The doctor gave me a prescription for anti-depressants. I've been taking them for the past six days.'  
  
He closed his eyes and held her tightly to him, never wanting to let go. 'I love you, Trin,' he said. 'Don't ever leave me like that again. I swear to God that I'll help you through anything in this world, so long as you let me.'  
  
'Don't worry,' she said, 'I will. I love you, too.'  
  
They kissed. A warm, sweet, long-awaited kiss, that Neo had been craving for, not only for the past three weeks, but the last two months.  
  
'Oh,' Trinity said, pulling away for a moment, leaning down and kissing his bare shoulder before continuing. 'I have something else to tell you. I'm four months' pregnant.' 


End file.
